To improve the prognosis of patients with critical conditions, the air medical evacuation system is expected to move patients faster and farther than in previous years. Modern technology allows for the establishment of a seamless en route care capability for ill patients as they move through the evacuation system. Air medical evacuation requires highly advanced medical equipment that needs to be tested in real-life scenarios. It is easier to find ground tests of various equipment for comparison, but tests made in altitude or simulated altitude are unusual. Because of barometric pressure changes during air medical evacuation, specific alterations require oriented experimentations. That kind of experimentation, in flight or in a hypobaric chamber, is difficult and costly. Unfortunately, benchmarking by crossing the results of studies on the same topic is often impossible because of the lack of standardized" test procedures. The need exists for an international consensus test of medical equipment involved in air evacuation, at a minimum on the frequently used altitudes.
展开▼
